


Fire Light

by Aerilon452



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: A/U, Bonding, Comforting, Complete, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-28
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-10-12 00:01:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,843
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10477551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aerilon452/pseuds/Aerilon452
Summary: Carol happens upon King Ezekiel in the royal garden





	

FIRE LIGHT:

 

Carol couldn’t sleep, as usual. The Kingdom made her feel as if she were back within the walls of the prison. Back there she couldn’t sleep either. She climbed out of bed and pulled on her boots. The night was warm enough that she could get away with only a light jacket. So, Carol left her room to walk anywhere. She didn’t want to sit still. In truth, her mind kept replaying what Morgan had told her. Glenn and Abraham were dead; murdered by Negan, the leader of the Saviors. That made Carol angry and shook her out of her self-imposed isolation. She knew she had to do something, and in the Kingdom she could.

Outside, Ezekiel sat on a bench in the royal gardens staring at the fire blazing brightly in the pit. He didn’t see the flames; his mind was too preoccupied replying the shot that claimed Benjamin’s life. Ezekiel wasn’t a fool. The Saviors were brutal, unforgiving, and demanded more than was necessary. Peace was the illusion he wanted to maintain for his people for as long as he could, but it was crumbling right before his eyes. It was sand slipping through his fingers. Realistically, joining Rick, and the Hilltop, was the only avenue left to him. 

Carol came to a stop, shrouded by the low hanging branches. She stood there watching the King. At first glance he seemed to be relaxed, watching the dancing flames, but she knew better. Guilt was eating him up, and the heavy burden of leading people was weighing on his shoulders. She could leave him alone, let him wallow, and continue on her way. Carol mentally kicked herself as she stepped out from the shadows. “Ezekiel…” She hadn’t meant to let him through all her defenses. There was something about him that made her at ease when he was around.

Ezekiel looked up at the sound of his name carried along on the night. “Carol?” he stood up seeing her. The melancholy that had plagued him a moment ago, it all but vanished. All it took was looking at her. On unsteady legs he went to her, but was careful to keep a small breadth of space between them. He knew she didn’t like to be crowded. “Should you not be in bed resting?”

“I don’t sleep much,” Carol answered quietly. Habit driving her not to make so much noise; even here. “Why aren’t you sleeping?” she asked him, taking that final step towards him. Ezekiel made her nervous because he smiled easily at her, he saw through her. Reaching out, her hand trembling slightly, she placed it on his chest. “You’re thinking about Benjamin.”

Ezekiel placed his hand over hers, “I failed him.” That morning he had a feeling, even as he called out Benjamin’s name, he knew it was a mistake to take the boy with him. Again his mind showed him the last breath Benjamin took, replayed it in vivid technicolor. It had him gasping in agonizing sorrow. Another life lost.

Carol had a turning point in front of her. She could back away, and leave him to feel his pain alone. Or, she could stay. Before she would have run as far and as fast as she could. Now, after all this, she wanted to stay. Sliding her hand up, she cupped the back of his neck. Carol wrapped her other arm around his shoulders, pulling him in against her. “I’m sorry…” she repeated over and over again.

Ezekiel didn’t fight Carol’s touch. He rested his forehead on her shoulder, drawing on her strength to help balance his ravaged emotions. Tentatively, he rested his hands on her hips. The tears stinging his eyes had been ones he’d refused to allow to fall for the lost life of the young man he’d watched over. Yet, with Carol offering him the most tender of comforts, he felt those traitorous tears streaming down his cheeks.

Carol took her hand from his neck, cupping the back of his head, “Let’s go sit down, and you can tell me about Benjamin.” He pulled back from her, seeing the effort she was making to come out of her isolation. The moment she met him, she felt something start to grow. Because of this, she took his hand, reluctant to let him get too far from her.

Ezekiel dropped down to the cushioned bench, absolutely bone weary. The royal courtyard provided little comfort now that Carol was sitting next to him, her hand holding his, her thumb rubbing up and down his idly. She was offering him the chance to talk about Benjamin, but he found he didn’t have the words yet. There had been a small funeral, and he even held a wake to give his people the time to mourn, to remember, and to laugh so that the cloud of sorrow might lift. It hadn’t. Most of his people still walked around in a haze. He didn’t want to talk. All he wanted to do was sit in silence with Carol and watch the flames in the pit.

Carol didn’t know what possessed her, but she scooted closer to Ezekiel and rested her head on his shoulder. She breathed him in, the unique forest scent he exuded calmed her. With each breath she took, she found her eyes growing heavier and heavier. It was Ezekiel, it had to be. No one else could lull her into such a false sense of security quite like he could. It baffled her, but not enough to allow her to fight against exhaustion. The crackling of the fire, Ezekiel’s even rising and falling of his chest, the warm evening, all of it mixed together had Carol dozing off.

Ezekiel knew the moment Carol slipped into slumber; her thumb stopped moving. He shifted his position with as much ease as he could muster. Carefully, his left arm slipped behind her back and his right under her knees so that he might lift her. All the while, she remained deep in sleep. Ezekiel knew his bedchambers were closer. So, with a mind to offer her more comfort than he knew she would accept, he carried Carol all the way to his bed.

 

MORNING:

 

It took Carol longer than she was comfortable with to realize that she wasn’t in her room. The bed was too comfortable, the covers were too warm and heavy. Everything smelled too much like Ezekiel. Her eyes opened to find him sitting in a chair, and he was watching her. “Did you sleep?’ Carol asked, her words slurring together as much of her mind was still foggy. She wasn’t eager to leave his bed.

“I did,” Ezekiel answered softly. Then, he patted the arms rests, “Right here, in this chair.” He liked watching her sleep in his bed. 

Carol pushed herself up, pinning him with a glare that only had him grinning at her. “You should have woken me,” she scolded. 

“You needed rest in a comfortable bed,” Ezekiel shrugged. It was no hardship for him to take respite in a chair. He’d done it several times when Benjamin had been younger, dreaming of his father, and waking up in the middle of the night to cry. Instantly, his mood plummeted. 

“Hey,” Carol didn’t want to see Ezekiel fall back into his sadness. She did something she’d not done before. “Come here,” she patted the bed as she slid over to make room for him to sit. He looked at her, slightly wary of her offer, but she only patted the space again.

Ezekiel picked himself up from the chair and sat on the bed with a sigh. Behind him, Carol moved closer, her right arm wrapping around his waist, and her left draping over his shoulder. He leaned back into her hold. “After Benjamin’s father died, I sat with him during the night. He would dream and when he woke, he would be calling out for his father, only to find him gone. But I was there to comfort him and now I’ll be there for Henry.” 

“Then that’s what you’ll do,” Carol responded lightly. Ezekiel brought his hands up, pulling her arms tighter around him. She could feel his hands trembling and she knew the toll it was taking on him giving the appearance of having it all together. He had to be the King, to be strong. She admired that about him.

Ezekiel leaned his head against Carol’s, absorbing her silent courage. He needed this moment alone with her, the silence of his room to steady his nerve for the coming day. Dropping the mask he wore felt good when he was around Carol. It gave him a chance to breathe, to feel like himself, not just the King. “Thank you for coming back.”

“You need me for the fight,” Carol said, but she didn’t really believe that. Fighting was a part of the world they lived in now. Was it so bad to believe that Ezekiel needed her just because? That thought should have scared her. She didn’t know him very well, not like she knew Daryl. Being with Ezekiel felt right. She felt she belonged here at his side. 

“King Ezekiel?” 

Ezekiel looked at the doors to his bed chamber, a sigh escaped him. It was Jerry, right on time, and ready to start the day. “Time to rule the Kingdom, and prepare for war,” he mumbled, reluctant to let go of Carol’s arms still around him. The false peace he’d tried to maintain had done more harm than good. Richard had tried to tell him, but he hadn’t listened, and it cost Benjamin his life. 

Carol let go of Ezekiel, moving to sit next to him she offered him her hand. Without a second thought, he took it, his hand griping her wrist. “I will be by your side through all of this.” She made this promise easily.

“Then come,” Ezekiel smiled, “let us rise and start the day anew.” Reluctantly, he let go of her wrist, and stood up.

“Not without my boots,” Carol remarked, a small cheeky smile curving her lips. “Do you by chance, Your Majesty, know where they are?”

“Why yes, my lady, I think I do.” Ezekiel went to the end of the bed and picked up her scarred, road worn knee high leather boots. Before she could take them from him, he dragged his chair close to the bed, sat down, and took her left foot. With great care, he put the boot on her foot, and tucked the fabric of her pants in before pulling the zipper up. 

Carol eyed him, but did not stop him. No one had ever taken care of her in this way before. She wasn’t even sure it was happening until Ezekiel gave her calf a light squeeze. Her heart skipped a beat when he repeated the same action with her right foot. With the zipper done up, she got up, and didn’t mean to stand so close to him. “Ready to start the day.”

 

THE END:


End file.
